Sharon was in Korea with her entire family. This was odd because in 1959 Korea was still regarded as a battle zone. The US troops were not allowed to wear civilian clothes. No dependents were permitted. The situation was and still is tense even today, 45 years later.

Sharon's father worked with KMAG (Korean Military Advisory Group). He taught accounting principles and financial matters to the Korean military. Sharon's mother was the queen of the PX (Post Exchange store). She walked the aisles of the store looking for and pointing out good buys to all the servicemen. She was the Molly Goldberg of the Seoul PX.

Sharon was entitled to US Army dental care and she became a patient at our facility. I was a recently graduated dental first lieutenant.

We all got a huge charge from Sharon because she was a sweet, cute, normal American girl stuck with us soldiers on the Korean mainland. Her dentist was a Texan, Wes Ballard. We all joked and kidded with her as Wes tried to perform dentistry. It was rumored but not confirmed that Sharon was engaged to somebody from Washington DC. This did not stop the kibitzing and fun talk whenever Sharon entered the Captain Marvin Carios Dental Clinic in Yongsan, Seoul.

The following incident happened on a Saturday evening at the 8th Army Officers Club. All the dentists were milling around listlessly when we caught sight of Sharon.

Because of military restrictions no local Korean ladies were allowed at the club. Only females who worked for the military were permitted. We all sat at a table near the dance floor. Sharon and seven lonely US Army dentists. The kidding was gentle and all seven guys tried to tell jokes and stories to get Sharon's attention.

The all-Korean orchestra started to play a slow fox-trot. All seven dentists, as if they were manipulated by a puppeteer, got up simultaneously and said in chorus, "Sharon, would you like to dance?" We all laughed at the precision of the gesture and one lucky guy got up and danced with Sharon.

The story returned to me when one of my old Army buddies reminded me of it. It was an incident from a world that no longer exists, but it still makes me laugh.